Senate Bill S6758

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S6758A

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act in relation to authorizing the commissioner of transportation
to issue a permit exempting certain signs


 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :
This legislation will authorize the Department of Transportation (DOT)
to rectify an unforeseen issue that resulted from the passage of the
State Scenic Byway law within the City of Watertown.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
Section 1. Authorizes the commissioner of DOT to issue an exemption
pursuant to section 342-I of the highway law for any sign that was
constructed in reliance upon a building permit issued by the city of
Watertown in 2008, provided application is made to the commissioner of
transportation within 180 days of the effective date of this act.

Section 2 Directs the Commissioner of DOT to promulgate rules and
regulations in regards to this exemption.

Section 3 This act sale take effect immediately.

 JUSTIFICATION :
As a result of the passage of the "Olympic Trail" law, some businesses
              

in Watertown are facing expensive propositions to move "off-premise"
signs. This legislation will authorize (DOT)to review this policy and
may make certain exemptions if it will not impact federal funding for
the Scenic Byway program.

Specifically, Arsenal Street in the city of Watertown is heavily
commercial street with many signs 'advertising local businesses.
However, depending upon the legal subdivision of the underlying land,
two identical signs on two identical locations could be treated
differently (i.e.  one is authorized as an "on-premise" sign and one
is prohibited as an "off-premise" sign). As a result, the law can be
difficult even for the local government to administer and can have an
unfair application to business owners and the local economy.

This bill will authorize DOT to grant a permit authorizing the
continued use for signs that may have been classified as an
"off-premise" sign but were already constructed in reliance on the
issuance of a local building permit.

However, this law will give DOT the discretion to deny the permit if
it determines, for example, that the issuance will result in a
significant loss of federal funding for the Scenic Byway program.
Therefore, this legislation balances the benefits of the Scenic Byway
law while affording DOT the ability to provide equitable relief to
local businesses that were unfairly aggrieved by the law.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
New.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.